These measures will save precious lives and def ine us for generations to come

WHEN we look back on this unprecedented year, we will realise one thing – we never have done so much by doing so little.

When the Taoiseach announced new restrictions on personal liberty on Friday night, there surely were many who were fearful. Never in our history have we been so constrained in our movement, but it was a necessary step in the fight against Covid-19. We are at war, and not just in our hospitals. We are at war in our living rooms, and we are pulling together by staying apart.

The experts tell us that physical distancing works, and they are supported by the evidence. There might not be enough data from Ireland yet to prove this, but early indications are promising and tough lockdown measures are having a positive impact in Italy.

The isolation measures now in place will pay real dividends not just for the wider population but for our frontline defenders. One healthcare worker has already died, and we owe it to his or her colleagues to ensure we minimise the risks they face.

The message is clear – every time we stay in, we are buying time. We are providing respite for a nurse who will spend 12 hours on her or his feet helping the sick. We are helping doctors by staying out of their wards.

The figures show that for every percentage point we manage to lower to rate of contamination, we will save thousands of lives. These are not random or illusory lives. They are the lives of our parents and grandparents, the lives of our sons and daughters, the lives of our neighbours and friends.

People sitting at home may be fooled by the mundanity of this huge adjustment in our lives into thinking that the virus is not taking hold.

It is.

We know you’re bored. We know you’re frustrated. We know you probably are even angry, but we cannot let up and we cannot lose focus. This week our death rate from the virus doubled, emphatically showing us how quickly the situation can get out of control.

This curtailment of freedom will be temporary. We got an extra hour of daylight last night, and we can still step outside to smell spring, to hear birdsong, to feel that first flicker of warmth on our skin.

Life is good. All life is good, and no life is any more or less important than another. We have lost rights, yes, but we have been given a duty, to ourselves and our fellow citizens. We have been asked to be adult in our response, and we cannot be found wanting.

The decisions we make now will be the ones we will be judged on. The lives of the people we know, love and admire depend on us.

The Government has imposed the restrictions, but in truth what we have been asked to do is, in the overall scheme of things, very little.

We are in a fight, and how we behave over the coming days and weeks will define us, as family, as citizens, as humans. The power is in our hands, and some day soon, we will be able to shake them again.